TORONTO, October 21, 2026 – Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford’s campaign issued a statement on October 18 questioning whether incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow has been consistent in her position on landlord and tenant issues, citing remarks she made during a recent interview with a Chinese-language media outlet.
According to the statement, Chow told 51.ca in an English-language interview that the municipal government should provide support to landlords dealing with tenants who fail to pay rent or damage rental properties. She also described the lengthy wait landlords face for eviction approvals from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) as “unacceptable.”
During the interview, Chow also said it was unfair for landlords to face prolonged eviction proceedings when tenants failed to pay rent or caused serious property damage. She argued that the provincial government should speed up the LTB’s handling of such cases.
Bradford’s campaign subsequently compared these remarks with Chow’s earlier opposition to certain rental housing reforms proposed under Ontario’s Bill 60.
According to publicly available information compiled in the campaign’s statement, Chow had previously criticized provisions of Bill 60 that could shorten eviction notice periods, limit tenants’ ability to request delays to eviction orders, and weaken their rights to appeal or receive compensation.
She had also publicly stated that approximately half of Toronto residents are renters and that tenants deserve stable housing and fair protections.
Bradford’s campaign therefore questioned whether there was a contradiction between opposing provincial measures that could accelerate eviction proceedings while also calling for the LTB to process cases involving unpaid rent and serious property damage more quickly.
However, the two positions do not necessarily address the same policy concerns. Chow’s remarks during the Chinese-language media interview focused on cases involving non-payment of rent or property damage, while her earlier opposition to Bill 60 centred on preventing unfair evictions and protecting tenants’ rights to challenge eviction decisions.
Whether her statements represent a change in position therefore depends on further clarification of how she distinguishes between different types of eviction cases and proposed rental housing reforms.
Backlogs and lengthy processing times at the Landlord and Tenant Board have remained a concern in recent years. Landlords have raised questions about whether cases involving unpaid rent and property damage can be resolved promptly, while tenant advocacy groups have warned that excessively shortened procedures could weaken protections against improper evictions.
With Toronto’s October 26 municipal election approaching, housing affordability, tenant protections, landlord rights and the respective roles of municipal and provincial governments in rental housing policy remain important issues in the mayoral campaign.
（LJI by Yuanyuan）
